Ergo Proxy: Proxy of Life
by Estrella Tallinfoot
Summary: Re-L, Pino, Vincent and Kristeva set out after Romdeau falls. One night Re-L asks Vincent a question and things spiral out of control. Re-L is pregnant. 'But Vincent is a Proxy' she tells herself. How will her baby turn out? Will Re-L even live to see it?
1. One

Okay, updates on this might be slow, but they might be fast, because I am working on two other fanfics besides this one; just to let you guys know, so there are no flames that I have to respond to, explaining my incapability of finishing one story and THEN moving onto the next. By the way, I think that some of you guys might be a little confused that Romdeau citizens are supposed to be sterile (my bad people, sorry!). Well, I'll just say that perhaps they were just controlled or something in Romdeau and once the dome fell that that control is broken or something...or maybe it's just because Vincent is a Proxy...who knows, but anyway, I apologize for overlooking that major plot defect.

Ergo Proxy: Proxy of Life

"Damn, I've made it so far," mumbled Re-L, clutching onto the railing just outside of Romdeau dome.

The ceiling inside the dome broke, crushing the small rampway outside. Re-L hung onto a small rope for dear life as she was flung to and fro as the dome that was her home for so long finally collapsed. Medium-sized chunks of metal and other materials fell around her, and she glanced below her into a fiery pit of what looked like hell. The airborne dome was finally sinking into the polluted, deathly lake below it, the flaming pieces of itself floating on the surface as the craft grazed the water's surface.

"Shit!" exclaimed Re-L. "No good, eh?" She was sinking towards the water, ever so slowly, knowing that her death was almost imminent.

"Re-L-Re-L!" came a small cry.

Re-L looked up to see the fine point of a ship's sail drawing nearer to where she was hanging.

"Re-L-Re-L!" it repeated. The Rabbit now appeared out of the smoke and fog, its slender frame catching the wind gracefully. "Re-L-Re-L!" it cried once more. A small figure was hanging off the sail; it was Pino, in her rabbit costume, her arm outstretched for Re-L. Re-L smiled for the first time in quite a while, her face dusty with smoke and dirt.

"Pino!" called Re-L. "Trust in her…" she whispered to herself, and she let go of the rope, her hair blowing in her face as she fell. Pino was now getting nearer, reaching her small arm out as far as it could possibly go. Then their hands connected; Pino's small but firm grip enclosed around Re-L's incredibly sore one.

The Rabbit dodged even larger pieces of Romdeau dome as they fell, creating huge tidal waves that would've engulfed the ship immediately. Romdeau dome was almost gone, crashing further into the lake.

Pino jumped down from her place on the sail onto the deck with Re-L, where another figure was waiting.

"You're Raul's…" stammered Re-L.

"Protecting Pino was the last order Raul gave me as his entourage," replied Kristeva, in her metallic Auto-rave voice. It was she who was steering the ship, and frankly, she was quite agile.

"She found this too!" sighed Pino, rubbing her strange instrument to her cheek. Re-L had grown quite fond of it on their long journey to Mosque dome and back, and she smiled a small smile.

Looking back on the descended Romdeau dome, Re-L mumbled, "Vincent…"

"It's all right!" smiled Pino, taking off her rabbit-hood. "I hear Vince's voice!"

Re-L's eyes became wide with wonder and amazement, and she turned to look at Pino. Pino giggled, and continued, "I can see him too! Distance: 11.07 knots."

Re-L opened her mouth in surprise, and turned back to the fallen dome. "What a troublesome man," she mused. "There's nothing for it. Shall we go get him, then?"

"Yeah!" Pino said excitedly. And with that, the Rabbit turned around, its blue headlight displayed playfully out in front of it, its light barely penetrating the surface of the lake of which it was travelling over.

With Re-L smiling the whole way, Pino pointed out Vincent, who was standing on a post of the remaining Romdeau dome, his clothes blowing in the breeze that was carrying the Rabbit along.

"Get on, Vincent," yelled Re-L from down on the ship. "Or should I say, Ergo Proxy."

"Vince!" cried Pino once Vincent leaped down from his place with ease. Vincent smiled at Pino, then turned.

"Kristeva?" he asked.

"Kristeva will be coming with us," interrupted Re-L. "Now let's go."

"Go where?" stated Vincent matter-of-factly.

"Anywhere. Anywhere away from Romdeau dome," Re-L whispered, almost to herself. "It pains me."

"Follow the people!" suggested Pino.

"No, they would only be afraid of me." Vincent looked at his boots.

"We have to take our own path," said Kristeva, and everyone turned to look at her. "We should try to find other signs of people, other domes, in the world."

"Yeah!" yelled Pino.

"Don't yell," Re-L scolded, bring a scowl to Pino's face. "Do we even have enough food for that sort of adventure? It's almost a lost cause," she spat at Kristeva. "What if we don't find life at all? How will we get food when it runs out?"

"We'll just have to hope," murmured Vincent.

"Or wish!" smiled Pino.

"Hope," snarled Re-L. "Hope has spat in my face. Wishes are an unnecessary factor."

"Miss Re-L…" gasped Vincent.

But in the end they had no better plan to come up with, so Kristeva set their course in the direction opposite of where the other ships carrying the citizens of the fallen Romdeau dome were flying.

"Bye-bye!" cried Pino as they passed the dome for the last and final time.

Vincent looked at his shoes.

"Farewell…Romdeau," breathed Re-L.


	2. Two

Ergo Proxy: Proxy of Life

Ergo Proxy: Proxy of Life

It was just one of those days where nothing seemed to go fast enough. Re-L and Kristeva sat at the back of the Rabbit, discussing where they thought that another dome would be located. Sometimes the noise level would rise or grow gruff, but something would be compensated, and they would discuss some more. Vincent was stuck playing with Pino, who almost went into a rage before Vincent broke down and agreed to play silly child-games.

The Rabbit was stationary, as nobody could decide which direction to turn next, and there was only a slight breeze.

"Come on, Vince!" cried Pino. "You can't be tired already!"

"Coming…Pino…" wheezed Vincent, trying to catch Pino. They were playing cartoons, and Pino was a rabbit, and Vincent was the hunter. Pino giggled, and ran off. "Oh…" groaned Vincent, leaning on one of the railings on one of the higher decks of the Rabbit. It broke under his weight, and he tumbled down, landing on Re-L.

"Get off me, oaf!" she growled, heaving him off.

"Any injuries?" asked Kristeva.

"Negative," snarled Re-L. "Although this one hurt his pride."

Vincent moaned, rolling around on the ground.

"Vince?" yelled Pino from up on the sail. "What are you doing down there? You're not supposed to be on the floor."

"Letting a little girl push you around, huh?" teased Re-L. "What a man."

Vincent got up on his hands and knees, still doubled over. Re-L kicked him, not too hard, and he fell over again. Pino climbed down from her place on the sail, looking at Vincent inquisitively.

"Pino, why don't you go and play your new song for Vincent," suggested Re-L, turning back to Kristeva to continue their discussion.

"Yeah!" yelled Pino, and she pushed Vincent until he got up, then pulled his hand downstairs, below deck where Vincent would have a moment to rest before Pino wanted to get up and play again.

"You're in love with him," murmured Kristeva once Vincent and Pino had disappeared.

Re-L was silent, looking at her boots. "It's that easy to tell?"

"Not quite, but it's there," replied Kristeva in a kindly tone.

Re-L sighed, her mind whirring.

Pino's song must have been finished for Pino had run out of the bunker below and was scurrying up the mast again. Vincent came trudging out a couple minutes later. "Ready or not, here I come," he mumbled wearily. Re-L watched him intently as he lifted up blankets and boxes and looked inside and below and everywhere, but he couldn't find her. _How degrading,_ she thought.

"Come on, Pino, give me a hint!" he yelled, frustrated enough.

Suddenly, Pino's instrument came hurtling out of the sky. Pino meant to throw it right into Vincent's arms, but she misjudged her distance, and it knocked Re-L in the head, sending her flying off of the Rabbit and into the dirty, snowy ground.

"Pino!" exclaimed Vincent. "Miss Re-L, are you all right!?" When no response sounded, Vincent jumped off the ship, frantically searching for where Re-L fell. He found her a few feet away, and she was obviously knocked unconscious.

Kristeva landed next to him, and she felt around Re-L's body for any broken bones. "Everything seems to be in check," she told Vincent.

"Where in the head did it hit her?" Vincent asked.

"In the side; here." She pointed to a spot just to the right of Re-L's small bun. "We should probably get her inside and warmed up."

Vincent picked up Re-L and climbed the ladder that Pino had just thrown down.

"Come and play, Vince!" she cried when they got up the ladder.

"No!" scolded Vincent. "Do you see what your play has done? You could have killed her!"

"Don't…be too hard on her…Vincent…" Re-L struggled to say. "Sh-she didn't mean…"

"Don't talk, Re-L, just rest," hushed Kristeva. Re-L smiled at Kristeva, then went back to sleep.

Vincent carried Re-L downstairs and placed her in her cot, grabbing three blankets and piling them on top of her, tucking her in as best he could. Then, for no reason at all, he bent down and kissed her cheek, half-wishing she would wake up, half-wishing she wouldn't. He put his thumb on her lips the way he did back in Romdeau dome, at the time of their first encounter, and walked out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

"Kristeva," asked Pino, when Vincent returned on top deck, "why was Vince so angry at me? He has never talked to me like that before."

"Well, you gave him quite a scare when Re-L was knocked off the ship," replied Kristeva, brushing Pino's hair to try to make her feel better, but it was more to keep her occupied.

"Why does he care so much about Re-L? She is so mean to him."

"I'll tell you another time," said Kristeva stiffly.

"Kristeva," asked Pino.

"Hmm."

"What am I feeling?" Pino turned around and looked at Kristeva.

"I think you are feeling jealousy, Pino. You are jealous that Vincent likes Re-L more than you," Kristeva said, setting down the brush on her lap. "You are feeling confused also."

"Jealous…" murmured Pino, turning back around. "Is it good to feel jealous?"

"It depends on how jealous you feel. How would you like your hair today, Pino?" asked Kristeva, trying to change the subject.

_Maybe if I look like Re-L, Vincent will like me more and my jealousy will go away_, Pino thought. "In two small buns, like Re-L's!"

Kristeva sighed, but did so anyways. Once she was done, Pino jumped up and ran over to Vincent. "Vince! Do you like my hair?" She pointed at her head.

Vincent, who was staring off into the horizon, merely took a small glance down. "It looks like Re-L's" was all he had to say. When he said nothing more, Pino became even more confused and ran back over to Kristeva.

"Kristeva, has my jealousy gone away?"

"Why do you say that?" laughed Kristeva.

"I thought that if I looked like Re-L Vincent would like me more and my jealousy would go away!" smiled Pino.

"Jealousy is something you have to overcome, Pino," replied Kristeva. "You have to accept that Vincent likes Re-L more than you. Then perhaps your jealousy would go away."

"Perhaps?" wondered Pino.

"It just depends on if you can truly accept the truth," answered Kristeva, and she walked away so that she could check the breeze and make sure that the Rabbit's anchor was still.

Re-L Mayer woke up a few hours later, her head a bit sore from her knock-out. Groaning as Vincent had earlier, she got up and headed to the bathroom. Her face and body were quite grubby from being thrown to the ground, so she decided that taking a shower would be a smart thing to do; plus it might soothe her aching head.

A lot went through Re-L's mind, from when Vincent had first broke into her bathroom back in Romdeau, to just this afternoon, when he had completely exploded in Pino's face.

Re-L dried her hair after her shower, but only put on her pink undershirt and underwear. She opened the bathroom door a tad, and saw that Vincent had meandered his way back into the bunkroom, probably just to check on Re-L anyway. She closed the door and took three deep breaths in the mirror, then opened the door.

Vincent, who was facing the bathroom door, sitting on Re-L's bunk with his hands folded together, was obviously not expecting this, and he fell to the ground when he saw Re-L half-naked.

"R-Re-L," he stammered, his voice slightly muffled from it being pressed into the floor. He was expecting Re-L to flare up and scream at him, driving him from the bunkroom and making him sleep in another place for a week at least. But she didn't.

"Get up," she said softly. He didn't move, unsure if he was supposed to obey this order. "Get _up_," she said, stronger.

He shakily stood on his feet, averting his eyes, trying to be careful, but it only made his eyes twitchy. He was beginning to sweat.

"Why did you break into my house back in Romdeau?" asked Re-L.

"I-I don't know!" yelled Vincent, who had no clue what the hell was going on.

Re-L took a deep breath. "Why did you break into my house back in Romdeau when I was going to take a bath?"

"I don't know!" cried Vincent, getting very distressed.

Re-L grabbed his chin, and forced him to look into her eyes. "Why, Vincent?" she whispered.

Vincent's breath was caught in his throat, and he gasped and stuttered over senseless words. Re-L pushed him onto her bed and kneeled over him. "You know why," she whispered, kissing him on the mouth. Vincent felt his eyes rolling around in his head, and was shaking very hard now; it was all he could do just to keep a faint hold on reality.

A bump sounded in one of the cupboards, and Re-L got up and walked over to the cupboard, opening it up. "Pino, get out," she said gently. The cupboard was quite dark, but she knew Pino was in there. "Pino," she said more sternly. A few seconds later, some shifting noises came from inside the cupboard, and Pino crawled out, a curious and shameful look on her face. There was also something similar to jealousy inside her Auto-rave eyes. Re-L ushered her to the door, then closed it and locked it.

"Kristeva," whined Pino. "Why won't Vincent or Re-L open the door?"

Kristeva became very still for a few moments, then she looked down at Pino. "Come, Pino," Kristeva said. "I'll teach you how to do your own hair."


	3. Three

Ergo Proxy: Proxy of Life

I was so stuck at the end of this: tell me if I should make a part two, for it seems really cut off and like…not long enough to be one month…but I couldn't think of anything else…damn author's block…so anyway, tell me if I like NEED to make a part two to this chapter.

Ergo Proxy: Proxy of Life

Month One

Re-L was sick. She didn't know why, she didn't know how, but she was sick. She was always retching, often vomiting, with tremendous cramps in her stomachs and migraines that she was sure one day would kill her. She had asked Kristeva to do a diagnostic, but since Kristeva had been infected with Cogito virus from Pino, she was enjoying her new freedom of mind for the time being by only doing what _Kristeva _asked. No directions or orders from anybody else. Period. And she was always hungry. With their long journey ahead of them, Re-L and Vincent had made rations for the already limited food supply aboard the Rabbit. Re-L had barely eaten what she'd had before, trying to save as much as possible, ignoring most of her belly growls. But now she ate all of it with much gusto, forcing it down her throat and almost begging with Vincent for more (Vincent thought this was some sort of trick and refused to give Re-L extra). Since Vincent had such a kind, but wary heart that he let her have his portions that he didn't eat, but it did nothing to quench her unstoppable hunger. Plus, once she ate, it seemed that her unbearable cramps got worse. They appeared to be hungry for more food.

As Re-L lay on her cot, curled up in her blanket trying to soften the cramps that felt like her stomach was being yanked on, she tried to think of things that could have made her this sick. All she could think of was food, both for the cause and because she wanted to eat, but she began to bring forth from her memories the day that she had gotten knocked off the Rabbit by Pino's instrument and the following details that day. Could…

_No,_ Re-L spat at herself firmly. _Improbable. Impossible._

She turned over painfully, groaning and clutching her aching belly. Visions of food clouded her mind, and she fell asleep thinking of the delicacies she used to have in Romdeau dome.

. . .

She woke up and retched, wondering where all of her vomit came from, for it seemed she had no food left in her poor stomach. Trying to push her brain-splitting migraine into the back of her mind, she unlocked the door (she kept it locked at all times to keep visitors out so she could have some peace) and stepped outside, shivering, even with her coat, yet another side effect to her sickness. Pino was sitting on the ground a few feet away, playing with her hair as usual, and that seemed to be all she did nowadays. Her instrument lay abandoned hanging on the mast. Vincent and Kristeva had gotten into another argument, and Vincent looked as if he was about to rip his hair out and push Kristeva off the Rabbit. But, being the annoyingly kind-hearted man he was, he just stood there, pulling at his hair.

"Who started this one," sneered Re-L, walking up limpidly to the pair.

"We have decided to go west," said Kristeva calmly.

"Not me, you!" yelled Vincent, his temper controlling his voice.

"It's not my fault you cannot think of a barely excusable answer to go south," Kristeva sniffed.

"I did, but you just keep repeating what you said before!" Vincent was getting quite distressed now, throwing his arms all over, almost hitting Re-L and Kristeva: Re-L smiled at the thought that this might be done purposefully.

"Children, children," ordered Re-L, deciding to intervene, "let us not fight now. I will decide which way we go."

Both Vincent and Kristeva now looked at Re-L intently, trying to send thoughts that she had to choose their direction and why they absolutely needed to.

"We are going southwest," compromised Re-L, causing Vincent to smack his forehead and Kristeva to hesitate a few minutes before hauling the anchor and switching the course southwest. Re-L lifted her chin as the breeze caught her hair and whipped it around as the Rabbit began moving forward. "That's more like it." Suddenly, an overwhelming feeling of nausea engulfed her, and she vomited, looking at Vincent and Kristeva like a little lost child, then fainted.

_Damn…_

. . .

Re-L awoke again, feeling very pale. She was back in her bed, the blankets all tucked around her, but a cold sweat had appeared on her brow while she slept. Kristeva was sitting at the edge of her cot, looking at her attentively. She seemed to have noticed now that Re-L needed a diagnostic.

"Look who's back to being a regular Auto-rave," smirked Re-L weakly.

"Don't talk, save your strength," Kristeva said firmly, seeming a bit annoyed at her statement, taking Re-L a bit by surprise. Re-L retched in the bucket over the side of her bed, groaning as the stomach cramps panged in her belly once again, accompanied by the beginnings of a migraine.

"Oh, Kristeva, what's wrong with me?" she moaned. Kristeva was silent, turning her head to the floor, then looking at the door. "Kristeva," growled Re-L warningly. "What am I sick with?"

"You aren't sick, Re-L." Kristeva seemed distracted, and she refused to make eye contact (even though she didn't have eyes) with Re-L.

"What do you mean I'm not sick? Does throwing up and fainting and shit like that not count as sick?" snarled Re-L, getting more and more antagonized by Kristeva.

"You're not sick," Kristeva repeated. "You're pregnant."

The room began to spin for Re-L and she leaned over the side of the bed and vomited once more. "Pregnant…" she whispered feebly. "I'm going to have a baby…"

"Yes. And that makes it all the more important to find another dome. You need more food, and comfort, no distress, or anything that could raise your blood pressure, for it could harm the baby. You've been starving it enough: that's why you've been throwing up," doctored Kristeva as she picked up the bucket and threw it in the toilet, bringing it back to Re-L's bedside.

"Vincent," she whispered. "Does he know?"

"I have not told him," stated Kristeva, rather matter-of-factly, as if it was not her job to carry on messages of the sort.

Re-L swore under her breath, and struggled to get up.

"What are you doing? You must rest," Kristeva said, pushing Re-L back onto the bed.

"Have to tell…Vincent," Re-L grunted, thrusting away Kristeva's hand.

"I will tell Vincent if you sit and rest." Kristeva seemed almost desperate to keep Re-L in bed.

Re-L froze and glared at Kristeva, her eyes full of malice, which made Kristeva freeze also. With Re-L still glaring at her, Kristeva's hand seemed to melt away from Re-L as she got up and took one last look at Kristeva before walking out the door to find Vincent.

_Works every time_, she smirked.

She found Vincent by the wheel, gazing out behind the Rabbit, looking in deep, deep thought. Re-L took three deep breaths, then took an extra one for extra reassurance, then walked up to Vincent, gazing out behind the Rabbit in the same manner as he.

Only after a few moments did he notice her. "Re-L!" he cried. "Are you all right?" He seemed much more jumpy and nervous around Re-L these days.

"Fine," she mumbled back.

"What happened, what it something you ate? Is it the smell on here or somethi-"

"I'm pregnant,'' she murmured, but it was so inaudible that even she barely knew what she said.

"Wh-wh…what?" whispered Vincent.

"I'm pregnant, Vincent," she repeated, her voice choking up. _What is happening to me?_

Vincent's face got very pale as he turned to look at her, almost turning a greenish color in the dimmed light of the world. Re-L thought he was about to faint as well.

"Oh…" he muttered.

"Oh? That's all you have to say?" growled Re-L, her temper surging up within her as tears began to run down her face. "Thanks, Vincent. You're such a…a…" and with this she ran away crying, back downstairs where she retched again.

_What the hell was that, Re-L,_ she told herself, her face growing contorted with anger at her raging emotions that seemed barely manageable. _What is wrong with you?_

And for the too-many-th time to count, she fell asleep.


	4. Four

Ergo Proxy: Proxy of Life

Ergo Proxy: Proxy of Life

Month Two: part one

Days went by, and Re-L's stomach inched forward ever so slowly. Kristeva had assigned herself to be Re-L's personal doctor, pediatrist, you name it; whatever Re-L needed, Kristeva was there. Pino often helped Kristeva, but something seemed wrong with her, almost glitch-like, for Pino would sometimes stare at Re-L, menacing and threatening, as if one day she would take her small instrument and permanently and personally put Re-L at an end. But other than those moments, she seemed perfectly happy at learning something new, following Kristeva around and constantly asking her questions, although most were repeated many times a day.

Re-L rather liked this pampering, and it gave her the chance to feel like Izzy was still by her side. Memories of Izzy often flowed through her mind, and her overloaded emotions immediately pounced on them, sending her into terrifying rages, or unbearable depressions that lasted for days.

The only thing wrong with the neurotic pampering was Vincent. Vincent, Vincent, Vincent. His Ergo Proxy fits became increasingly more, with him often disappearing for a couple days at a time. When he wasn't Ergo Proxy, he was frequently, persistently, and relentlessly waiting on Re-L, hand and foot and back and head etc. He wouldn't leave her alone for two seconds, and was always moping around when she told him to go away (which happened much more than it used to). Re-L could sense that something inside him was stirring, possibly waking, but most of those thoughts were pushed away by her own condition. She had also concluded that he had now become schizophrenic.

Food was also a problem, as there was a constant shortage, and Vincent had now resolved to skipping breakfast, and only eating half of supper, which may have contributed to his mental actions. There was only about a month's supply left, and at the rate Re-L was eating, it would be polished off, each scrap licked clean in about twenty-one days.

Re-L tried to write in her journal as much as possible, but between Kristeva coming in for periodic checks and Vincent's obsessive behavior, she barely got time to even think. Re-L snapped her journal shut for the 23rd time that day, and hid it underneath her pillow just as Kristeva walked in.

"How are you doing Re-L?" asked Kristeva. Pino had followed her in, her head barely reaching over Re-L's cot, her small eyes looking at Re-L attentively.

"What do you think?" Re-L spat at Kristeva. "I'm freaking pregnant. I'm hungry, I'm freezing, I'm sore, I ache. Is there anything else you need, _doctor?_ And why does Pino keep looking at me like that! She looks like she's going to kill me!" And indeed, that was the expression that had come over Pino's face. Kristeva didn't answer, nor did she look at Pino, but calmly put a soothing wet cloth over Re-L's forehead.

_What was that for, does she think it'll cool down my temper or something? _growled Re-L, getting sick of Kristeva and Pino's odd new habits.

Suddenly, Vincent burst through the door, his almost-glowing green eyes wide with excitement.

"I thought I told you to get out and stay out!" snarled Re-L, trying to get up to teach Vincent a thing or two about disobeying her orders, only to have Kristeva push her back down.

"There's a dome outside!" blurted Vincent, pointing back outside. Kristeva, Re-L and Pino all made a mad dash for the door, with Pino reaching it first, then Re-L, bowling Vincent over. They all ran up the steps and out to the front of the Rabbit, hanging over the railing with growing incredulity as they stared at the looming mass before them.

It was, incredibly, a dome, but it was nothing compared to Mosque dome, or Romdeau dome. It was quite small, but large enough to hold perhaps a couple hundred people. It was almost like a miniature Romdeau in design, with a few minor changes in the outside structure.

"It's so small," remarked Re-L, critiquing it from first sight, curling her lip with immediate dislike.

"At least we'll finally be able to get you some proper care," sighed Kristeva, obviously relieved.

"Maybe I'll find some new friends!" cried Pino, a huge grin spread across her face. Vincent was strangely silent at everybody's excitement.

Re-L looked at him, studying his face and body posture, trying to decide if he was frightened or eager. Perhaps he was just nervous. After all, Re-L was going to have his baby, and now they were going into a strange dome.

_A proxy's baby…_she thought suddenly. The thought had never occurred to her, for some odd reason. It was probably just her fried emotions getting in the way of her usually sharp thinking and connecting skills. Her hand went to her stomach, to the growing, living thing inside of her. She swore she felt a small bump, perhaps a heartbeat, or a kick. _Will it be a proxy too? _

The Rabbit swung closer to the dome, its slender frame cutting through the air as it raced towards its destination. Re-L could tell that Vincent was now getting more and more tense, for he walked away from the railing and back downstairs, probably to figure out something that Re-L wouldn't understand.

_Proxies,_ she thought, rolling her eyes, her minute twinkle of appreciation for the dome growing by the second. She then realized how dirty and smelly she had become; sitting under about three blankets and having hormones raging for days on end did not help her personal hygiene. Re-L walked back downstairs, to find the bathroom door shut.

"Vincent! Get out of there!" she screeched, banging on the door. No answer came from within. "Come on, Vincent, get out of there now, or I'm-"

She was cut off as, not Vincent, but Ergo Proxy blasted opened the bathroom door, towering over her with that frightening mask. Re-L stared like a terrified deer at Ergo, drinking his air of awe and supreme that drifted around his god-like body. He took a step towards Re-L, and she remained frozen as he reached his hand out for her stomach, a curious expression upon his face (or mask, if you prefer). He touched Re-L's stomach, but a golden shockwave was sent up his arm and around Re-L's body, making him withdraw, roaring and stumbling back into the bathroom, while Re-L screamed as her body was wracked with pain as the shockwave traveled across her limbs, and she staggered backwards also, fainting when she hit her head on her cot.

. . .

Kristeva heard Re-L's scream, and her and Pino bolted back downstairs to find Re-L (who was out cold) crumpled on the floor in the bedroom, and Vincent (who was groaning slightly as consciousness slowly came back) sprawled on the bathroom floor. Pino immediately ran over to Vincent, while Kristeva tried to piece together what had happened. She knew that Re-L cared about her personal hygiene, and had probably gone down to take a shower to clean herself up before they reached the dome. Since Vincent had already been down below deck, Re-L had obviously yelled at Vincent to get out. But what had happened after that was still a work in progress in Kristeva's Cogito-infected mind.

"Re-L-Re-L!" gasped Pino, pointing her small finger at Re-L. Kristeva turned back to Re-L, and realized that what was happening with her was crucial to the mystery. As Re-L lay distorted on the floor, unconscious, her collapsed form was glowing. It was a lovely, heartwarming glow, its color a rich golden. Kristeva looked again to Vincent, and realized that small, barely perceptible traces lingered around him also. She did a scan of Vincent, and his vital signs showed that it looked like he had just woken up from a long sleep. Kind of like the way he was when he came back from his long trips. Kristeva remembered that Re-L had mumbled that he had gone away to do Proxy things, and the rest of the mystery came crashing together like a gigantic tidal wave.

Ergo Proxy must have re-awoken in Vincent again while he was in the bathroom. When Re-L went down to take a shower, it was Ergo that greeted her. Something must have happened to the two, but after doing another scan, this time of Re-L, Kristeva had concluded something even more serious, something that she had missed before in earlier diagnostics.

Re-L's baby was a Proxy. And from what Kristeva had understood from Re-L's tense conversations, two Proxies could not live together…


	5. Five

I really need to thank all of you guys: POL has officially hit 1,000 hits!! All you guys who hit this story rock my socks, even if you didn't like it; I try. I thought I would compliment (complement, either one, I suppose) you guys by making another chapter, so I hope you enjoy it, while I enjoy trying to figure out what's wrong with my computer.

Ergo Proxy: Proxy of Life

Month Two: part 2

_Beep…beep…beep…_

The noise would not quit! Re-L Mayer tried to cover her ears to try and bring back the silence that she had welcomed so gratefully just a few minutes ago. But how could she be even sure that it had been minutes? However fast or slow the time went the obnoxious beeping was not going to help her flaring temper. Some annoying scratching followed after her hands touched her ears and she made a grimace, and finally she got perturbed enough where she sat up with a start, giving at a mean glare at…

To her surprise, it wasn't Kristeva, Vincent, or even Pino. Re-L was nearly blinded by all of the white light that surrounded her, and a doctor – an actual person was standing by her side. He wore a blue mask over his nose and mouth, and Re-L stared at him with incredulity.

"Nurse, she's awake," he mumbled through the mask. Three Autoraves ran to Re-L's side, all running diagnostics on her at the same time, trying to make sure that the machines that Re-L was hooked up to were functioning correctly.

"Where am I?" Re-L gasped.

"You are in the hospital," replied the doctor.

"No, idiot, what dome is this?" she spat at his impertinence.

"This is Desdra dome."

. . .

Vincent meandered his way along the eerily empty streets of Desdra dome, kicking a small pebble along the way. He wasn't surprised that the streets were empty, the dome was so small! It was quite a change though, going from the damp, dark, cold outside to the bright, clean inside of the dome. Everything smelled so fresh, so clean, so…homey.

Vincent hardly cared about any of those things anyway, all that mattered now was that Re-L was safe, and was being taken care of by the top medicine-practiced people in the entire dome. Of course he felt slightly uneasy, but she was in better care now than she ever was aboard the Rabbit. Kristeva had done a good job, though it was still nice to have her somewhere where he knew her condition was to be stable, and stay stable, unless…

No. He forced himself never to think of the 'unless', or 'if' questions and statements these days; all of this was just too strange for him! Besides, there were too many anyways, and if he got himself started, he wouldn't be able to stop the endless torrent that would flood his mind, and make him even more hyperactive and paranoid than he already was becoming. Vincent kicked the pebble extra hard; it rolled away out of sight.

A small child ran up to him, her curious eyes looking at him like a frightened deer. She had picked up Vincent's pebble, handing it to him and saying, "What's wrong, mister?"

Vincent took the pebble, stuffing it in his pocket and walked on his way, ignoring the child.

"Wait!" she cried, catching up to him, her small red scarf bouncing along the way as she used her arm to keep her small beret on her head. "I've never seen you before, are you those new people that came in that cool ship?"

"Mm," Vincent agreed. He wanted to be alone for now.

"Wow, that's neat! Where did you come from? Are you those rebels that my daddy keeps talking about? He won't like you if you are."

"Rebels?" asked Vincent, deciding to treat the girl similar to Pino. Maybe he could introduce them later; then they would both be occupied and leave him alone.

"I'm Loretta," the small girl beamed, apparently deciding to ignore Vincent. "What do you think of Desdra dome? I know it's really small, we barely have any Autoraves, even! Did the place you come from have Autoraves?"

"Yes."

"Wow, what are they like? The only people here that have Autoraves are either the really rich people or the doctors, 'cause they've all been discarded otherwise 'cause they've all…" Loretta rambled on, excited at making a new friend, but Vincent had stopped listening. His senses became alert; his whole body tingled with how sharp and perfected the sensation had come upon him. He was beginning to feel sleepy, even though his glowing green eyes were wide open. He felt poised to kill, and he was aware that his nose wrinkled in disgust. Then, just as suddenly as it came, it was gone.

"Vincent?"

Vincent, snapped out of his trance, and looked down at the little girl, who was looking up at him curiously. "How did you know my name?"

"'Cause," she smiled up at him again. "Come with me!" she exclaimed, taking his hand and dragging him along the empty street. Loretta was pretty fast for such a small girl, Vincent hardly had time to mumble an 'excuse me' or 'sorry' when he bumped into the odd person wandering around the streets.

"Slow down!" he cried, after tripping over a crate. It was only a few seconds later when she stopped in front of a tall spire, towering above both their heads. "Whoa…" gasped Vincent. "Where is…" he began, but he realized that Loretta was no longer with him. He had hardly felt her hand leave his when they had arrived. Shaking his head at the nonsense that was beginning to form inside his head, he opened the door inside the spire, realizing that it was just the hospital in which they had taken Re-L.

"Excuse me," he said to the Autorave at the front desk. She merely gave him a glance and returned to doing her computer-work. "Um, do you know which room Re-L Mayer is in?" he asked, not a bit offended by the Autorave's inhospitality, for he was near used to it by now, between Pino and Kristeva, who were both Cogito infected.

"That is highly confidential, information denied," it droned.

"But…but…!" spluttered Vincent. "I came on the ship with Re-L, and –"

"Information denied, please leave," it interrupted.

Grumbling, Vincent wandered out the door, only to return quite sneakily, hiding behind a plant sitting in the corner of the room. A long stretcher came in, carrying a man that was bleeding badly from his head. Vincent followed the stretcher down a long corridor until he came to an elevator, and he jammed his finger in the button, hoping that Re-L was in one of the top floors.

The doors opened with a 'ding' and Vincent swore under his breath, hoping that nothing heard the small sound. He climbed in and the doors shut without a sound; it seemed he was in the all-clear, now he just had to figure out which floor Re-L was on between the three rows of buttons that had twenty buttons each. He closed his eyes and pressed a random button, feeling the elevator begin to move. He still had his eyes squeezed shut when the door opened with another 'ding'. Vincent took a deep breath and stepped out of the elevator, more than ready to begin his search for Re-L.

Approximately three hours later, Vincent hauled himself into the elevator, finally pressing the second to last button. It lit up, and Vincent felt the elevator going up, trying to keep his breakfast down as best as he could. He squeezed his eyes together once more to try and block out the now obnoxious 'ding' of the elevator as it reached the next floor, but it still penetrated through his aching skull with notorious fierceness. Vincent stumbled into another corridor that looked unsurprisingly like the one before it, and even the one before that one, and the one before that one…

He wearily dodged to one side as a couple of Autorave nurses passed by him, then continued on. He was so tired he almost passed Re-L's window altogether, and had to do a double-take, his head and neck muscles screaming at him for the sudden movements.

There she was; his angel, his Re-L. She was sleeping (peacefully, I might add), although she was hooked up to many machines, each one of them making a different tone of horrendous beeping. Vincent secretly hoped that the beeping would annoy Re-L just as much as it did him. She was so beautiful! It took his breath away every time he looked at her; her strong jaw, her prominent nose, her ice-blue eyes. She was almost like a goddess in herself, and not even her ferocious temper could dampen how Vincent loved her so.

And now he was going to be a father. How the hell was he supposed to do that? He was a Proxy for Pete's sake…he'd never had a father, he was created by Him! What did a father do? How did a father act? This was all too strange for Vincent to even comprehend at the moment, and he just let his breath create steam on the window, deciding to be comforted by Re-L's mere presence, even though it was barred by glass that he could oh-so-easily shatter.

"Identification, please."

The voice startled Vincent, and his hand involuntarily went to where his gun was usually holstered, but he found that it had been removed. Vincent stuttered at the Autorave, and when he didn't answer, the doctors swarming inside finally noticed him, yelling at him for being up here, and that this floor was extremely confidential. Two large Autoraves came up from behind him, menacing and threatening, and Vincent decided to make a run for it, for he knew what they would do if he was caught. Probably prison, interrogation, and a large ultimatum of memory erasing of some sort.

_This pitiful dome probably doesn't even have the technology to do that_, he smirked to himself wistfully. Given a glimmer of new confidence, Vincent bolted past the single Autorave and sprinted down the corridor to the elevator. The 'ding' no longer bothered him, and his motion sickness disappeared in the chase as it descended down to the ground floor.

When he reached the lobby, a few more guards had congregated there, and so he nonchalantly walked out the door, pulling into a run when they finally spotted him, and raced down random streets until he figured that he himself was lost enough so that they would not find him.

Vincent meandered his way along the eerily empty streets of Desdra dome, kicking a small pebble along the way. He wasn't surprised that the streets were empty, the dome was so small! It was quite a change though, going from the damp, dark, cold outside to the bright, clean inside of the dome. Everything smelled so fresh, so clean, so…homey.


	6. Six

Ugh, thanks to fanfiction updating their site, I have no idea when to make a new chapter next. I was planning to do it every 500 hits, but now that plan has been thrown out the window, so I will attempt at doing a monthly thing. So keep reading, please, for the sake of my sanity…

Anyways, a new chapter will be coming in approximately two or three weeks after this one, since this one is well…somewhat short…

Ergo Proxy: Proxy of Life

Month ?

"Kristeva," Pino sighed for the millionth time. "When can we go find Re-L and Vincent?"

"We can't find them, Pino, they have to come back," corrected Kristeva.

Pino's face puckered and she sat down, crossing her arms and legs, staring out at the small dome intently. Why couldn't Re-L and Vincent come back _now_? It was much too boring to just sit here and do nothing. That's all Kristeva did, and being a grown-up was no fun, even if you were just an AutoRave.

_Maybe I should go down and work on my numbers, numbers are always fun_, thought Pino absentmindedly, but she quickly dismissed the thought because that's what she had always been doing, and it was time to try something different. They had been hiding in the utterly boring cave for much too long now (in actuality, it had only been 40 hours). Its walls smelled of something unfamiliar and much too disgusting for Pino's like, and they dripped of something that annoyed her brain, she decided. Barely any light radiated into the dampness, even though they didn't need it anyway.

Perhaps Kristeva had something fun that she was doing.

"Kristeva?" asked Pino, her scowl turning into a curious grin as she bounced and flounced over to where Kristeva was standing.

"What, Pino?" Kristeva answered, barely disguising the annoyance in her voice.

"What are you doing?"

"I am waiting."

"Oh…" murmured Pino, her gaze following where Kristeva's was, but she saw nothing of interest. "What else are you doing?"

"Contemplating."

"What is 'contemplating'?"

"It's a way you think." Kristeva's tone was now dipped in annoyance, for it had turned hard, and Pino's eyebrows came forward, and her lips puckered once more.

"What is fun about thinking?" Pino grumbled, her tone dipped in annoyance, for she was partly annoyed, and partly wanted to copy Kristeva because there was nothing else to do.

Kristeva did not answer, but instead said, "Pino, why don't you go and play your instrument?"

"I'm bored with my instrument," she shrugged.

"Why don't you play on the Rabbit?"

"There's nothing fun to do on the Rabbit."

"Do you need to charge?"

"No." Pino sighed, her puckered face drooping. "I need something fun to do."

"I'm afraid I cannot help you there."

Pino sighed a larger sigh than she had before, and hopped away, hoping that pretending to be a rabbit would bring some ideas. But that was the problem; Pino only knew how to be a rabbit because that's only what her mind to allowed her to be. Because she didn't know anything other than a rabbit. She didn't know how to draw anything other than what poor Timothy had showed her how to draw, and what she had thought up herself, but those had mild inspiration behind them, and now, in this utterly boring place with no inspiration, there was no inspiration to be had. She knew lots and lots of numbers, those she had been programmed with, but it seemed as though that was all she knew; she knew how to calculate distance, time, rate, but there was nothing else to do with them. She knew how to play her odd little instrument, but only one song, and she longed for another one to learn, being too afraid and preoccupied to make up another one that would suit her liking as much as the first one that she learned did.

Pino hopped along until she got to the place where the Rabbit was stationed, its slender frame tipped over on its side. How could Kristeva have suggested playing on the Rabbit when it was tipped over on its side? It was nearly next to impossible. Nevertheless, Pino gracefully leaped aboard, thinking of what she could pretend to be. She wandered through the sideways Rabbit, looking for something to catch her eye that would be of at least some interest to her childish mind. But she wasn't really looking for anything, anyway. She was too busy wracking her artificial brain for some sort of inspiration; something she'd read, something she'd seen, something she'd done, something she'd heard to cleanse her utterly boring artist's board of gray.

"Perhaps I could be a card soldier!" she exclaimed suddenly, remembering her treasured Alice in Wonderland book, and stood at attention, waiting to be ordered to do something card soldierish by her loving (or rather, not so loving) Queen of Hearts. But the Queen of Hearts never yelled at her to do something. Soon, Pino became bored once again.

"Maybe a card soldier was not the best idea," she said to herself. "I know! The Cheshire cat!" She took a comical pose on the second highest place the tipped-over Rabbit could offer, and said, "Why, everybody is mad!" and gave the widest grin she could manage. She took one gigantic leap to the highest place, and gathered her balance as best she could, trying to stand on her head like she had read in the book. She was about to deliver her next line, when her balance disappeared out from under her, and she tumbled down, landing on the ground right on her bottom.

"Hmph!" she moaned to herself, and flopped herself down in the position she had started in; the pucker-faced, cross-legged and cross-armed scowl. _Why can't Re-L and Vincent come back_ now_? _she thought, now thoroughly irritated. "Ow…" She rubbed her sore bottom feverishly.

She sat like that for a few minutes, now completely undecided on what to do.

Small thumping noises came from around the edge of the Rabbit, and Pino called out warily, "W-who's there?" She realized they were footsteps, and she jumped up, screeching, "Vincent, Vincent!" but when she rounded the corner, a small girl with a dark blue coat, a red scarf and a black beret. Her black hair was in waves, falling angelically to the middle of her back (although most of it was tucked in her scarf) and it made Pino slightly…what was the word Kristeva used…jealous.

The girl blinked her chocolate brown eyes at Pino, and Pino asked softly, "Who are you?"

The girl smiled, and Pino knew this girl would not harm her, or rat her out like a tattletale, and would be her friend to keep her busy for the time being. "I am Loretta. Would you be my friend?"

"Yeah!" Pino grinned, and ran up next to Loretta.

"Tag, you're it!" yelled Loretta, and Pino followed close behind her.

. . .

Kristeva had not heard from Pino for quite a while, and she herself had gotten bored with her contemplating. Even though contemplating was just a fancy word that Pino couldn't understand. Kristeva had been exploring the depth of her new mind and heart, seeing how far she could go with her thoughts until they became staggering, and she became dizzy.

Kristeva had headed off in the direction of the Rabbit, and was now searching for the little companion AutoRave.

"Pino? Pino?" she called, lifting up boxes, and searching as best she could, scanning continuously for signs of movement.

_I have gone around this damn ship seven times, where could she be!?_

Kristeva had gone around the ship seven times; seven times enough that she had erased the two sets of child-sized footprints that lead out towards Desdra dome.


	7. Seven

I apologize that this one came so late; me and the family did something special for Thanksgiving and we didn't get back until today – now that cumulative hits are back up, I will go back to my original plan of every 500 hits writing a new chapter. Thanks so much for being patient. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Ergo Proxy: Proxy of Life

Month ?

"Pino! Pino!"

No answer.

"Pino, where are you?"

No answer once again.

Kristeva sighed, and faced her worst fear: Pino had finally run off into the dome, which she was absolutely, under no circumstances was allowed to do. Desdra dome was unfamiliar, and everybody (with the exception of Pino, of course) had agreed to have the AutoRaves stay behind and hidden with the Rabbit – nobody wanted to risk the stealing and dismantling of the ship, and the AutoRaves were immediately ruled with the thing, as they were infected with Cogito. Who knew how the citizens of the pitiful dome would react towards robots that thought and spoke for themselves?

Vincent had also wanted Re-L to stay behind, due to her condition, but Re-L, being the obnoxiously stubborn and pigheaded woman she was, argued with him until her face was almost blue, and had glared at Vincent until his face turned an almost-green, then the final words of "For me" had been said and Vincent's head had fallen and he had trudged away like a dog with its tail between its legs, with a proud and smug Re-L leading ahead, gun in hand. Kristeva had seen no more of them after that.

And then, when Pino had seen that Vincent and Re-L were going together, she had wanted to come along too. She said that she could pretend to be Re-L and Vincent's friend (she had meant companion AutoRave), but Vincent had turned suddenly cold towards Pino, probably from being kicked around by Re-L, and had forced her to stay. Of course you could just see the disappointment and resentment in Pino's eyes once Vincent had discarded her and ran off to catch up to his pregnant Re-L, but a couple hours later, she had returned to her normal, bouncy, restless self.

But why had she run away? Kristeva knew that Pino had been quite bored, but she would've expected better from the little one not to run off – especially if it meant putting other's lives in danger. And now Kristeva had to go off and find her.

Couldn't she just leave Pino to fend for herself? Ah, but she, too, had found herself attached to the girl. Would she be able to risk her life for her? Well, Kristeva would see to that when the time came.

And the time was now; to leave the safety and guaranteed shelter of the cave to find one of her…family, or to save herself and remain.

Tentatively, Kristeva took her first few steps out into the very dim light, her hands folded together. She stood in her most businesslike manner, all scanners alert and stretched as far as they could go.

_This is idiotic, this is idiotic,_ she kept telling herself as she became more and more wary as she got closer and closer to Desdra.

Something rustled or moved beside her, and Kristeva jumped, mentally kicking herself afterwards. She sensed the very outskirts of the dome after about twenty minutes – it was now or never.

Much, much sooner than expected, Kristeva was standing at the foot of the dome, close enough to reach her hand out and touch its cold outer-shell, thoroughly surprised at herself for making it this far. She was no coward, but there were certain things she would not do. This was the line, and she was teetering on the very last millimeter before crossing. Her mind needed some sort of convincing, and much more than some gentle breeze to push her over, but for now her thoughts were blank and fearful. Nothing came to mind, and Kristeva silently turned back, violently beating down her ego and self-esteem for making such a foolish choice to come this far.

"Pino can take care of herself, it was her fault in the first place she came…" she mumbled to herself, her metallic voice sounding more and more emotional with every word that she forced herself to say.

Emotional…since she had become infected with Cogito, it had been Kristeva's wish to be a master, not some puppet controlled by a few spoken words. You could say it was her raison d' etre. Her raison d' etre…raison d' etre…master…raison d' etre…

Kristeva lifted her head proudly, stunned at the revelation that had come upon her. Raul Creed; she had promised him that she would take care of his Pino, that she would always look after her. She had loved her master, her Raul Creed, and now some silly virus was threatening to consume her with thoughts that she thought she could never think before.

Contemplating her existence, puh, that was merely Cogito tightening its grip over what she stood for, trying to blow out her candle flame, her raison d' etre. Kristeva raised her head with a snap and marched determinedly back to the foot of the dome, thinking of a way to get in. Perhaps Cogito was still a good thing, even though it had threatened to take away what she had loved. If she could somehow mix her life and intertwine it with what Cogito was trying to thrust upon her…No! No more distractions. She must pay attention to what she is doing now. Her existence was at stake.

. . .

Pino wandered the streets of Desdra dome, frantically searching for her friend.

"Loretta, where are you? I'm lost." The last sentence came out no more than a terrified whisper. Pino clutched at her hair and bit her lower lip, wishing that tears would come to her eyes like a normal girl.

She was completely and utterly lost: Loretta had somehow abandoned her, leaving her stranded in the strange streets. There were few people and even less AutoRaves, and they merely just passed her by, glancing at her with an unsettling look or just passing over her altogether. It was quite frightening.

At Romdeau dome, Pino had known almost everybody since she had been the Director of the Security Bureau's daughter, and now with unfamiliar and scary faces greeting her at every turn, it was somewhat unnerving.

Pino sat against a wall with a huff and rubbed her eyes, trying to look like she was crying. Perhaps Loretta wouldn't be able to bear to see her friend sad and would come out. This game of tag was no fun anymore. She even sniffed a couple times, just for effect.

Small footsteps sounded around the corner of the building that Pino had rested against, and Pino jumped up with delight, eager to see that her charade had worked.

"Loretta!" she yelled, but her smile faded when she saw that it was merely another scary person. The blonde-haired lady looked at her in surprise, then whipped out her cell phone and began chatting furiously to it. Pino's face turned into a pout and she turned and ran down the alleyway.

"Little girl, wait!" came a cry from behind her. Pino didn't stop, but craned her neck to look behind her. The woman's face looked weird; it was an expression between fear and triumph, something Pino had never seen before, not on anyone. She hadn't realized she had slowed her running until the lady – who had apparently been running also – caught up to her, kneeling down and taking her by the shoulders.

"Little girl, how come I've never seen you before?" she asked Pino. Pino merely blinked at the lady, her face turning curious. What was that face that lady had been making just a few seconds ago?

The lady smiled, her pink lip gloss shining as the light reflected off it differently. Her messy blonde hair was pulled up into a careless bun, and her blue eyes shone with kindness beneath her glasses. "Are you lost?" she tried again.

Pino nodded solemnly. "I'm looking for Loretta." Then her bubbly personality began to take a hold of her. "We are playing tag!" And with that, she beamed at the lady.

"Loretta? I don't believe I know her either," the lady replied, her face shifting into the way it does when grown-ups talk to little children. "What's your name?"

Pino was taken aback. "But Loretta said she's been here for a very long time! She told me herself!"

"Darling, I don't know anybody by the name of Loretta here."

"Do you have a bad memory, perhaps?" asked Pino, getting more and more frustrated with this lady.

The lady laughed – a perfect, soothing laugh that sounded like bells. "Why don't you come with me, and I'll help you try to find Loretta. My name is Rona. What's yours?"

"Pino," smiled Pino, and Rona took Pino's small hand and led her off in the opposite direction she had come.

"Now, Pino, where have you last seen Loretta?" she asked, pretending to look around, but all Pino heard was the beeping of her cell phone.

Pino tried to block out the noises without much success, and said matter-of-factly, "By the tin man's shop."

"The tin man? Where is he?"

"Down by the big road that goes across the sky," replied Pino, looking up at the large highway constructed overhead.

"Hmm, you might have to give me a little bit better description than that – that's a very large road," Rona sighed, and it was true, for it extended the entire length of the dome, from end to end, meeting in the tower in the center.

"Oh…"

Rona saw the look on Pino's face, and changed the direction of the subject quickly. "Well, we'd better start looking then."

. . .

Kristeva had never been so disgraced in her life. Running through the streets of a dome smaller than her house like a vagabond…quite degrading by her standards. There was trash littered in the back alleyways, and so many dead ends had appeared before her that it was enough to make anyone scream in frustration.

_This whole entire city is like a gigantic maze_, she thought angrily to herself. She felt as if she had been going in circles the entire time, always meeting a brick wall at every turn. And there was no assistance! No random AutoRaves floating around to try and help her out – not that she needed it anyway, she was sure she could find her own way through the dome. Besides, she couldn't be met by anybody or anything, which was why she had been keeping to the back alleyways.

After turning into another dead end, Kristeva pounded her fist into the wall, frustrated. What was wrong with this city?

The sound of someone running had now approached unexpectedly, and Kristeva looked around for somewhere to hide, but no sooner had she looked to her left and right, when a little girl in a blue coat and a black beret appeared before her, staring at her like a frightened deer. She stared at Kristeva for some time, and Kristeva stared right back.

The girl realized that Kristeva was not about to talk any time soon, so she murmured a sweet, "Hello."

Kristeva nodded back, to show that she had acknowledged the girl's voice, and that she was not rude. Silence had now returned upon the pair, and Kristeva had decided to do a scan of this girl, seeing if she was carrying any weapons or anything that would contact some bigger presence to investigate.

"That's not going to help, you know," the girl said unexpectedly.

Kristeva started; how had this girl known she was taking a scan?

"You need to get out of here," the girl said to Kristeva, her face impassive.

If Kristeva could have narrowed her eyes, she would have. "No," she spoke finally.

"This place is not for you."

"I will not leave without Pino or the others," Kristeva spat at the girl. "Who are you to tell me to leave?"

Suddenly, tears sprang to the girl's eyes, and her mouth contorted to try to keep her from crying. "I don't want to die," she whispered, her voice choking up.

Kristeva hesitated – another costly decision had to be made; should she comfort the girl in hopes that she could possibly lead Kristeva to Pino and perhaps even Vincent or Re-L? But it could be a trick: the girl could have somebody waiting to try and capture her.

The tears began to roll down the child's cheeks, and she began to sniffle. Deciding to do the right thing, Kristeva walked up rather sternly to the girl, before kneeling down rather cautiously, shocked at the pain in the girl's eyes. She reached her arms up and around the girl, holding her close while also staying very still, alertness radiating from her for the first few minutes as the girl continued to cry.

Slowly but surely, the girl stopped crying and Kristeva released her, still holding her comfortingly by the shoulders. Innocent eyes adorned the girl's face as she spoke once more, rubbing her eyes to wipe away the remainder of the tears and a slightly runny nose.

"My name is Loretta," she said softly. "If I take you to Pino, will you leave?"

"At once," replied Kristeva, meaning both when and how quickly to take her to the small AutoRave.

"But you must take him with you," Loretta said, almost menacingly, forcing Kristeva to promise her.

"Pino is a girl," scolded Kristeva as Loretta took her hand and whisked her away from where they were.

. . .

"We're at the intersection of 5th and Ridgeview," mumbled Rona into her phone.

"_Good, we'll be there shortly."_

"It keeps talking about this 'Loretta', do you think you should bring extra?"

Silence, then, _"We need not concern ourselves with Loretta at this instance."_

"I'll ask later."

"_I'll bring extra just in case – if it's a companion, it needs someone."_

Rona hung up her phone, only to find Pino staring into her face on the park bench.

"What's that?" asked Pino, her wide eyes curious.

"It's a cell phone."

"What's it for?"

"It's how we communicate."

"Don't you have AutoRaves to help you communicate?" Pino flopped down next to Rona on the park bench.

Rona chuckled at the irony of the situation she was currently in. "No, this is how people used to communicate – the people of Desdra find it much more effective than AutoRaves."

"Why?"

"I'll tell you another time." Rona breathed a silent sigh of relief that she had been able to evade Pino's pestering this time, even though she knew there was more to come. She was right.

"Who were you talking to?"

"Oh, they were just some nice people who agreed to help us in our search for your friend," smiled Rona, and Pino saw that this smile was a fake one.

"You're lying," Pino said, her face expressionless as she faced forward on the bench.

Rona's beautiful blue eyes opened wide at Pino's statement, but she mumbled an almost inaudible, "Yes."

"I'm in trouble, aren't I," Pino said, almost to herself.

Rona's eyes now turned cold. "Yes."

. . .

"Loretta, where are you taking me?" gasped Kristeva as she raced by the street.

"To Pino," was all Loretta said.

Kristeva knocked into a cart in the streets, stumbling and barely re-catching her footing as Loretta flew along, taking a few sharp turns. A dark alleyway loomed up ahead, but Kristeva was not afraid of it. She mentally turned on her scanners and focused on keeping pace with Loretta.

. .

"_According to my scanner, there's another one coming."_

"Good thing you brought extra."

. .

Suddenly, Loretta stopped. It was gradual enough where Kristeva could alter her balance sufficiently, but she immediately noticed that they had stopped. Her small hand gently left Kristeva's and soon she had disappeared from view, but Kristeva could still sense she was there – probably watching over, making sure that she kept her word.

A small figure was seen up ahead, its lips puckered as if it was trying not to cry. But it couldn't cry. It was just frightened.

"Kristeva!" yelled Pino as she ran towards Kristeva with open arms, and Kristeva's arms opened also as she scooped Pino up and hugged her close.

"Pino, where have you been!?" cried Kristeva. Pino buried her face in Kristeva's shoulder, and a gun barrel came at close proximity to hers and Pino's head. Kristeva tensed, a new emotion, rage, filling her.

"Two new AutoRaves…haven't had anything this fun in a long time," a man whispered. "You must have come with that strange lady with the big belly…she'll be safer here without you."

Pino whimpered at the man's voice, squeezing Kristeva.

"Andrew," came a new voice – it was a woman's. "Don't shoot."

"Laws are laws, Dr. Mayennal," the voice snickered, flexing his finger.

"Bring them to the lab for testing; look at the way they care for each other – perhaps we can learn something from them. When we're done, if they're not completely dismantled, then you can shoot them." The female voice sounded intrigued, but was well-masked by a cold tone.

"Damn," the man swore.

Pino began to shake violently in Kristeva's arms, and it took nearly all the effort left in Kristeva's body to not join in with her.


End file.
